Rep. Todd Rokita to lead subcommittee hearing on opioids Wednesday

Rep. Todd Rokita speaks with the press after hearing Vice President Mike Pence speak at the Wylam Center of Flagship East on Sept. 22. Rokita, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education, will lead a hearing on opioids in communities Wednesday morning.
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Rep. Todd Rokita, R-4th District, chairman of the subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education, will lead a hearing on the opioid crisis.

"Close to Home: How Opioids are Impacting Communities," will be an outlet to discuss more on keeping the opioid crisis from further spreading in the state, according to a release from Rokita's office.

IU President Michael McRobbie announced a $50 million dollar commitment by the University to tackle the crisis in October, and President Trump declared the epidemic a public health emergency later that month.

A pilot study conducted by the Indiana State Department of Health found that about one in five infants assessed at hospitals around the state tested positive for opiates, according the release.

"This opioid crisis is a national health emergency that knows no bounds," Rokita said in the release. "This is truly a crisis."

The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m Wednesday with the House Education and Workforce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives in the Rayburn House office building in Washington, D.C.

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